It appears that everything isn’t exactly simpatico in the White House/Media household. On Friday, the two allies had quite the lovers’ quarrel over COVID-19 and vaccinations. In a rare instance of the Biden administration taking the activist media to task for spreading misinformation, an official lashed out at both the New York Times and the Washington Post for fudging pertinent details about the pandemic.

The New York Times posted a tweet claiming that “the Delta variant is as contagious as chickenpox and may be spread by vaccinated people as easily as the unvaccinated.”

Breaking News: The Delta variant is as contagious as chickenpox and may be spread by vaccinated people as easily as the unvaccinated, an internal C.D.C. report said.https://t.co/hDs1FOIPMt

— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 30, 2021

White House Coronavirus Response official Ben Wakana wasn’t having it. He slapped the Gray Lady down with a scathing correction. He wrote:

VACCINATED PEOPLE DO NOT TRANSMIT THE VIRUS AT THE SAME RATE AS UNVACCINATED PEOPLE AND IF YOU FAIL TO INCLUDE THAT CONTEXT YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG

VACCINATED PEOPLE DO NOT TRANSMIT THE VIRUS AT THE SAME RATE AS UNVACCINATED PEOPLE AND IF YOU FAIL TO INCLUDE THAT CONTEXT YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG. https://t.co/gBkDbJ21xX

— Ben Wakana (@benwakana46) July 30, 2021

Next in line was the Washington Post, which posted a tweet stating that “vaccinated people made up three-quarters of those infected in a massive Massachusetts covid-19 outbreak, pivotal CDC study finds.”

Vaccinated people made up three-quarters of those infected in a massive Massachusetts covid-19 outbreak, pivotal CDC study finds https://t.co/nQbAIctsos

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 30, 2021

Wakana pummeled the Post by calling the tweet “completely irresponsible.” He continued:

3 days ago the CDC made clear that vaccinated individuals represent a VERY SMALL amount of transmission occurring around the country. Virtually all hospitalizations and deaths continue to be among the unvaccinated. Unreal to not put that in context.

Breitbart News recently pointed out that the activist media “pushed back on the White House’s coronavirus testing protocols earlier in the week.” The report referenced Politico questioning why “weekly Covid testing [is] a reasonable substitute for vaccination” and a WaPo media activist disagreeing with Biden’s “shaming” of vaccinated people for not wearing masks.”

Anyone who has been watching politics over the past few decades know that it is quite rare for a Democratic administration to openly argue with its favorite bedfellow. Indeed, the activist press typically embraces its role as the administration’s Ministry of Propaganda, dutifully protecting the president by ignoring his failures and viciously attacking his critics.

Is this the beginning of a trend with the Biden administration? If so, what does it say about the president’s ineptitude — that even the activist media is daring to criticize him? I suppose we will find out soon enough. But, we shouldn’t expect much just yet. The White House and activist media will be back to whispering “sweet nothings” in each other’s ears soon enough.